Reform 'forgot' that racists have to pay VAT like everyone else

Shocking absolutely nobody, the Times today revealed that Reform UK has likely ‘forgotten’ to pay VAT on its various branded tat and tickets. The little non-payment slip-up is a helpful reminder that this far-right joke of a party is not only racist and multifariously bigoted but also deeply incompetent.

‘Easy stuff’ – unless your VAT has anything to do with Reform

Political parties don’t have to pay tax on money from donations or membership fees. However, the law requires them to pay VAT on things like merchandise and event tickets when they make more than £90k a year.

Last year, Reform almost certainly passed that £90k limit in a single day. 1,800 people showed up to the party’s 2024 conference at Birmingham NEC, paying £50 for a basic pass. In fact, Reform’s own tax filings for last year – as published in August – revealed that it generated almost £440,000 from events and merch sales.

Displaying an almost comical lack of awareness, a note in the party’s 2021 accounts read:

as a political party, the party cannot be registered for VAT.

That being said, pleading ignorance won’t wash. Reform clearly knew about the $90k threshold, given that its manifesto proposed scrapping the figure and setting it to £150k as a boost to small businesses.

Commenting on the ‘oversight’, Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates told the Times that:

This is easy stuff. I would expect a trainee accountant to know this. It’s remarkable that Reform UK got it wrong.

Worse still, when the Times approached Reform to ask it about the missing VAT, the party didn’t bother to respond. However, it did appear suddenly to remember that taxes exist, quietly adding the charge to several items. Commercial partners working with Reform received invoices stating that:

This invoice includes a 20 per cent charge, which will be converted to a formal VAT invoice once our VAT registration is complete. This will enable you to reclaim the VAT as normal.

‘Promptly and without reservation’

The Times consulted several independent tax experts on their findings. They concurred that Reform should have registered its VAT by the end of last year at the latest. In failing to do so, the far-right party broke one of the foundational laws of British taxation.

Unfortunately, it’s possible that Reform may still be able to weasel out of paying fines if it confesses to HMRC immediately and cooperates fully with its decisions. However, it’s more likely that the party will be charged a 7% penalty, with an extra 8% interest on top.

A Reform spokesman refused to go into any detail on the situation. However, he did state more generally the party would repay any money that it was found to owe:

We are currently in the process of fully reviewing our position in respect of VAT with the assistance of our appointed specialist VAT advisers.

We are engaging with the relevant authorities to ensure all matters are addressed appropriately.

We will respond to [the Times’] inquiries when we have finalised our position in full. Should any liabilities be identified as a result of this process, we will settle them with HMRC promptly and without reservation.

Malice and/or incompetence?

VAT is one of the UK’s primary methods of generating public money. In the 2024/25 financial year, it added nearly £170bn to the public purse. This goes towards paying essential services that we all use, like the NHS, road maintenance and education.

Fortunately for Reform UK, it has plenty of practice weathering tax-avoidance scandals. Party leader Nigel Farage uses a private company to lower the amount of taxes he pays on income from GB News appearances. Richard Tice, Reform MP and property baron, has millions sequestered away in an offshore tax haven. Likewise, Brokerage firm JB Honore Drax, which has ties to tax havens in Singapore and Luxembourg, donated £50k to the party.

One of two possibilities is clearly true. Either Reform genuinely didn’t realise that it isn’t a church for racist assholes (and therefore has to pay taxes like everyone else), or it knew about VAT and thought it could get away with cheating the British public.

Either way, the practical upshot is the same. This pack of jackals and layabouts have demonstrated for everybody to see that they shouldn’t be put in charge of a mid-sized conference, let alone a fucking country.

Featured image via the Canary

Tags: Reform